If some things in Cockwork Industries are confusing to you, the FAQ below may provide answers. We’ll keep updating the FAQ with new entries if needed.
Full guide for the game is also available below.
I bought the game at Nutaku/Renderotica/DLSite and when I click on “Personnel Files” or “Secret Archives” in main menu I get the following message: “Access denied! Feature not supported in versions of game marked X.XR”. Why is that?
These sections contain external links and had to be removed in Nutaku/Renderotica/DLSite versions of the game in order to comply with their respective vendor agreements. If you bought the game from either of those stores please contact our support and we’ll directly provide you with content that is not available in-game. Versions 2.00 and newer feature a reworked achievement system that doesn’t rely on external links (and hence no “version X.XR” issue) and Nutaku/Renderotica/DLSite versions are no longer restricted in any way.
How to save the game?
Use the save point located in the Lobby (the computer screen on the reception desk). You can hold [Space Bar] to show you exactly where it is.
Why doesn’t the game let me save more often than once per chapter?
Since version 1.10 saving the game is no longer limited to once per chapter.
How do I progress to next chapter?
Once the chapter ending conditions are met you can click the bed in the Guest Room (the location where you start the game) to progress to next chapter.
How do I access my items and how do I know where the exits are in a location?
Both of those are explained in the initial tutorial. To access your inventory, you need to click right mouse button. To highlight interactive objects in a location (including exits) hold down the space bar on your keyboard.
Is the game available in other languages than English?
No. English is the only language version.
Will there be versions for other platforms?
We intended to release the MacOS version, but unfortunately there are currently engine-related issues with porting to Mac and we had to abandon the idea. We have no plans of releasing a Linux version due to the marginal market share of the OS and too many different Linux distributions existing.
Will there be a white main character added in the future?
No. Adding a different character in this case is not as easy as re-skinning the model in a 3D game. All animations, endings, portraits and everything else that includes the main character would have to be redone and re-rendered taking up a significant amount of development time we think is better spent on making new games with new characters. We will have main characters of various ethnicities and sexes in our future games so eventually everyone should be able to find someone they can identify with the most.
I feel like I made the right choices and still couldn’t have sex with the girl I was after. What am I doing wrong?
To unlock sex encounters with each girl (or guy) you need to make the right plot choices and have high enough reputation score. The plot is constructed is such a way that going after and having sex with one girl makes it impossible to go after the others (Diego in gay playthough is an exception, same as girls introduced in DLCs).
To gain high enough reputation, you need to make correct dialogue choices with a character and, optionally, hand them gifts they like. Each character has preferred gifts, neutral and disliked. If you play the game in Simplified Mode (v1.10 and up) the reputation feedback indicators are visible.
If you’re having trouble unlocking desired content, you can refer to the Game Guide for help.
Mini games during sex scenes are annoying, I have to focus on passing the game rather than watching the scene.
If you find those annoying, you can play the game in Simplified Mode (v1.10 and up) where sex scenes can be watched without interacting. Even in Adventure Mode playing the mini games is optional. By playing you unlock a different image in the sex summary screen (provided your score was above POOR) and a Magic Fingers reward if you achieve a FLAWLESS score. You can choose to only watch the scene and it will automatically move to the next one after 30 cycles.
I don’t know what to do in the foreplay mini games. I click on a body part but nothing happens.
To progress within foreplay sequences you need to click-and-hold on the adequate body part until the wheel around the character’s portrait fills up, in turn progressing the excitement meter. Depending on how full the excitement meter is, the characters will respond differently to having been touched on various body part. Once the excitement meter fills up completely, the sequence will end and proceed to sex scenes. Remember you should never touch the same body part twice in a row, therefore you should alternate between body parts that give positive reaction.
For help on how to best approach foreplay sequences for each character, check out the Game Guide
I’m getting getting POOR final results despite clicking perfectly on time during sex scenes.
The final score depends on your combined performance in the foreplay mini game as well as click-timing mini games during sex scenes. If you’re getting bad results despite clicking perfectly on time, you must have made some mistakes during the foreplay part.
Why do I need to go online to access Personnel Files and Secret Archives rewards after finishing the game?
Since version 2.00 this is no longer the case and rewards can be viewed from the game’s main menu.
What are the QR codes in Personnel Files and Secret Archives for?
Since version 2.00 the QR codes had been removed. In earlier versions they are an alternative way to open the reward links. Scanning them does exactly the same thing as clicking them, so if you already clicked the links there’s no point scanning the QR’s.
Does the game have 4K support?
Although the game doesn’t have native 4K, on 4K monitors it gets upscaled from 1080p and is perfectly playable.
Is there 21:9 monitor support
The game doesn’t have 21:9 monitor support.
I’m experiencing poor performance
If your PC meets minimal hardware requirements and you experience poor performance, try the following:
1. If your PC has integrated GPU that uses shared system RAM, close all other applications to free as much memory as possible.
2. Try disabling particle effects by pressing [P] during gameplay.
3. Be sure to have the latest drivers installed for your PC.
I’m encountering black screens
In an event where the screen goes black at any point in the game, but audio can still be heard (this can occasionally happen on some systems), you can press [F5] and the screen should go back to normal. Sometimes this issue can manifest differently – screen doesn’t go black, but some UI elements are clearly missing and the game is stuck.
Reloading the scene with [F5] is a “brute-force” solution and should only be used in the situation described above. Don’t press [F5] in any other moment as it may break the game!
If despite pressing F5, the screen is still black, you need to quit the game using alt+F4 and load your save.
If your PC meets minimal hardware requirements and you experience sluggish performance, try the following:
– if your PC has integrated GPU that uses shared system RAM, close all other applications to free as much memory as possible
– try disabling particle effects by pressing [P] during gameplay
– be sure to have the latest drivers installed for your PC
Even though I finished the game, none of the Personnel Files/Secret Archives entries are unlocked (only v2.00 and newer).
This happens when your Windows user name contains special/non-latin characters which makes the game unable to find the correct path to write the achievement file to. Currently the only workaround is to create a new local user in Windows with latin-only characters in its name and playing the game while being logged in as that user.
The game does not start, I get the “Init failed, could not load game” error.
It’s most likely because the file path to game files is too long (meaning the game is inside too many folders) or that the file path contains special characters, such as “!” “(” or “-“. Move the game folder as close to the root of your drive as possible (like “C:\Cockwork Industries\Cockwork Industries.exe”) and remove any special characters from folder names.
I can’t scroll to the left or right side of the of a location
This can rarely happen if you end a dialogue before the dialogue screen lock gets disengaged. Usually it’s when you click through the dialogue too fast and the game can’t catch up with processing all necessary actions. It’s a very system-specific and rare situation.
There’s two things you can try:
1. To avoid screen locks – try clicking slower to skip the dialogue (give like 1 second for each dialogue line).
2. If your screen is already locked – try clicking any other object on the scene to start a new dialogue window. After you finish that dialogue the lock should disengage.
I’m unable to finish the finale Quick Time Event due to input lag
On low-spec systems the poor frame rate (even after disabling particle effects) may cause significant input lag that can make finishing the finale QTE very difficult or impossible. If that is the case, simply keep failing and after 5 failed QTE attempts the game will continue on and on your next playthrough you’ll be able to skip the QTE completely.
Why does the game look like running at a low frame rate during animations? The FPS counter shows the game is running at 60fps.
That’s because the game indeed runs at 60fps, but the dialogue animations (as well as other animations in the game) are frame-based (meaning they are a series of a specific number of still images displayed one after another, not a video or a 3d object) and the number of frames had to be quite low to account for lower-end PCs. Otherwise the game would be very memory demanding and minimum system requirements would be drastically increased.
Unfortunately that’s one of the limitations in a pre-rendered 2d game where you can’t adjust quality and performance settings on-the-fly as you would in a 3d game where the graphics are rendered in real time. Please also consider that other 2d games like visual novels usually have still images during dialogue instead of animations. We decided to have animations, though with slightly limited frame rate.
In future games we’ll be using video files instead of image frames and all animations will be much smoother. This wasn’t possible for Cockwork Industries because the version of the engine we were using didn’t allow us to reliably use such solution.
The game is buggy after I start a new game (only versions 1.00-1.01)
If you play the game without saving at any point, then go back to main menu and start a new game, issues may appear that prevent you from continuing the game. This can be easily fixed by deleting “bookmark01” file located in C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Digital Seductions\Cockwork Industries\Savegames and restarting the application. This issue is fixed in versions 1.02 and newer.
The save files are corrupted
If you turned off your PC while the game was being saved, the save file may get corrupted making it impossible to continue your game. In that case, you should try manually removing save files (please note: that’s a last resort solution as it effectively erases your progress).
In order to do this, locate the folder called Savegames (it can be found in C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Digital Seductions\Cockwork Industries) and delete it.
Note: “AppData” is a system folder, which is hidden in Windows by default. You need to make system folders visible in Windows File Explorer’s folder options before proceeding.
40 comments
josh - 03/11/2022 21:55
can you guys make a second game?
Astaroth [admin] - 03/11/2022 21:59
You mean a sequel to Cockwork Industries? We plan to at some point in the future, but not anytime soon.
SuperSESENova - 05/07/2022 06:11
I want to ask if we have interaction options in videos in secret files and personal files after unlocking and re-watching them in the main game menu.
Astaroth [admin] - 05/07/2022 20:15
No, the unlocked videos are non-interactive.
Angel Marina - 05/01/2021 14:14
I’m really impressed with your work. I have became an adict to it, I have almost finished it completely in a few days. Perfect rendering, wonderfull animations, good story. The minigames were funny but not clear, it took me some time to understand the system; except the last minigame, was it really neccesary for that kind of game? Please, release your next game ASAP, I can’t wait for more. I’m your fan forever.
Xive - 16/12/2019 22:31
I have thoroughly enjoyed the game. I am having difficulty getting better then a poor rating. I am curious about the mechanics in achieving the score. Does the foreplay scene affect the overall score or is it just a pre-cursor to get to the sex scene (and ultimately the score). The only guide I have to go on is the thermostat. By the end I have nearly reached the top but still NEVER achieved more then poor. I am willing to keep trying but if I understood better how the rating is earned I could focus better.
Astaroth [admin] - 16/12/2019 22:53
Yes, foreplay affects the overall score. See section 3 of the Game Guide for help.
Chris Knoll - 05/12/2019 16:16
Is there a way to disable the pixelation that covers the genetals? It was strange to see this considering some images on he digital seductions site has uncensored images, and so was disappointing to see this in game. Is there a patch?
Astaroth [admin] - 05/12/2019 16:28
Did you buy the DLC Pack on DLSite as well? If you didn’t, you can buy the DLC Pack from either Affect3D or itch.io and it will remove censorship mosaic in the entire game.
VoodooIdol - 13/06/2019 23:48
After I finish the game, when clicking on “Secret Archives” I get an error that says:
ACCESS DEN1ED!
Feature not supported in versions of game marked X.XR
I bought the game through Nutaku – not sure if that makes a difference.
Astaroth [admin] - 14/06/2019 00:01
Yes, this is explained in the FAQ. I’ve sent you an e-mail regarding that.
Khagan - 30/12/2018 18:38
With a couple of games done I have to ask:
– Could you explain how to beat the final mini-game? Every time I fail multiple times.
– How do you unlock the other secret achievements? Only ones I’ve done are Volatile Mix and Nailed It.
kittypopper - 28/11/2019 00:36
I do have the same problem. I do click on the buttons but still fail…
Astaroth [admin] - 30/11/2019 01:33
It didn’t occur to us before, but I think you guys can’t finish it because you only press the buttons and sometimes you also have to click the monitor on the left side of the screen once it turns red. Sorry that we didn’t specify this clearly enough. We will include a better QTE description in the next update.
Misterfox - 20/12/2018 23:05
Awesome game! Looking forward for more gay content in next DLC’s!
Darksppd - 03/12/2018 15:04
I was curious about exactly which sex summary options there are and how it affects the story. Or rather is there a way to better increase by chances of getting better than a “poor” rating. It seems that even though I fill up the action bar, I can’t get better than a “poor” rating, Simplified mode skips the foreplay which is a bit of a bummer and seems to default to a “decent” sex summary score.
Any help in unlocking the best possible summary score would be greatly appreciated, I don’t like it when the ladies frown at me. 🙁
Astaroth [admin] - 03/12/2018 15:44
The sex summary scores don’t affect the story at all, it’s only for fun. In Adventure Mode there are four possible scores – “poor”, “decent”, “good” and “flawless”. With “good” or “flawless” score you get the same image as with “decent” score, only the descriptions differ. Initially we planned to expand on that (adding additional images, rewards etc. based on your score), but it turned out many people found the sex mini games frustrating, so we decided not to.
If you still wish to try to get a better score, here’s some advice:
1. In foreplay mini games look at the portrait reaction most of all. If the character is dissatisfied, you need to stop and try a different body part before the ring around the portrait starts blinking red (which means you are starting to get negative points). Holding the mouse button after the bar fills up will eventually start counting negative points as well. Also remember to alternate between different body parts as touching the same body part second time straight after the first causes a negative reaction.
2. The sex mini games are rather straightforward. Just hit as many points as you can and that’s really it. Once you get the timing right, these should be quite easy.
I hope this helps.
Darksppd - 03/12/2018 22:19
Thanks, perhaps I’ll give it a another try, although I could have sworn I’d filled the action bar up but still got a poor rating.
For what it’s worth I’ll admit the mini game during the sex scene was rather distracting, but I actually liked it during the foreplay section, which as I mentioned before, I was little disappointed to see it missing from simplified mode.
Matt - 18/11/2018 16:14
Hello, i am having a problem just loading the game, after i unzipped the two files, i get this message when trying to launch the game:
10:04:15.103:No config.ini in D:\Not Porn Games\Digital-Seductions_Cockwork-Industries-v1.10\Cockwork Industries v1.10\Cockwork Industries\/config.ini
10:04:15.166:m_gamePath: D:\Not Porn Games\Digital-Seductions_Cockwork-Industries-v1.10\Cockwork Industries v1.10\Cockwork Industries\
10:04:15.166:Loading game from file ” failed!
10:04:15.166:Init failed, could not load game
not sure what I am doing wrong, any help would be appreciated! thank you
Astaroth [admin] - 18/11/2018 16:38
Hi
Check the FAQ. I updated it to address this problem.
Pistons - 17/11/2018 05:03
With a team of just two people I am thoroughly impressed by the quality of this game and its sex scenes. Hope you won’t waste too much time and effort on the less important aspects here, and rather focus the dlc’s mainly on more sex scenes. The client and everything else works great aside from the save game system perhaps.
The last minigame felt a bit off too. It just takes time.
Maybe one small thing for the comming dlc’s could be to add a button to the sex scenes that lets you move back and forward between the positions at will.
Astaroth [admin] - 18/11/2018 16:46
Thanks for the feedback! We’ll definitely consider those suggestions for DLCs and future releases.
Maximus - 08/11/2018 21:35
Are you gonna put some long nails on your avatar in the game ??? Tx
Astaroth [admin] - 09/11/2018 00:10
Are you asking if you’ll be able to play as a female character? Not in this game, but we’ll have female playable characters in future games for sure.
If you were asking about something else, you need to be more specific.
Maximus - 15/11/2018 03:19
Tx for the respond but im talking about the nails of the girls, i would like that some girls got long nails just like many girls in sodoms sluts for exemple!
Astaroth [admin] - 03/12/2018 15:52
There’s still a new girl coming for the second DLC, so if long nails fit her design, I don’t see why we shouldn’t do that. Overall though, if you like the Sodom Sluts aesthetics, you should probably wait for the SS-themed game that’s coming in the future. There’ll be long nails for sure ;-).
Lightning747 - 02/11/2018 00:33
Hopefully the next game has a white MC. Can’t really get into playing as a black dude.
strippertipper - 19/05/2019 07:25
This is not a one off problem. Add a patch that can change MC skin.
Tokage [admin] - 19/05/2019 10:01
I’m getting really tired with those kind of “requests”. For the last time: forget about changing gender/race options for MC, in both Cockwork or any upcoming game. Don’t bother with that kind of comments/requests as it simply ain’t gonna happen for numerous reasons: a/ a shitload of unnecessary work (it’s not a 3D game where you can simply “re-texture” the model, all of the scenes that involve MC would have to be re-rendered, code must have been rewritten to point to different graphical assets and so on) b/ while not necessarily an issue with Cockwork Industries there will be stories where gender/race is an important PLOT POINT and simply cannot be changed c/ there is no possible way we can cater to all the preferences that are out there. We do our thing – if you’re unhappy with it, there is ton of other devs whos works may be more appealing to you.
Goobly - 01/11/2018 05:55
Really nice artwork and pretty good game. It was like an old school point and click adventure meets a VN. Also, thanks for including an optional gay path. I’m sure there’s been some flack over it, but it was much appreciated. Can’t wait to see what else you do.
ItsWhatever - 31/10/2018 22:43
Honestly if I were you guys I would never make a H-game with mini-games in it again, with or without them being in the middle of the actual H-scenes. I would even go as far as to consider just removing them from this game entirely.
Astaroth [admin] - 31/10/2018 22:47
We’re currently working on a gameplay update that will allow you to choose if you want to play the sex mini games or just watch the scenes.
naughtytico - 31/10/2018 15:16
Can you include a replay for the minigame , Maybe a shortcut in the start menu
Astaroth [admin] - 31/10/2018 15:40
Not possible at the moment, but we might be able to add something like that in the future. In the current version, you can re-watch the scenes using an online link in “Personnel Files” after you finish the game.
Watcher - 30/10/2018 18:37
I realy like the game and had buy it at affect3d.com. Special the gay scene ist so hot – thanks for this.
But i have a problem:
I get a black screen at the start of the second scene with Lucy.
Astaroth [admin] - 30/10/2018 18:51
Hi, I sent you an e-mail regarding the bug. Generally, to report bugs, please use the contact form.
black star - 30/10/2018 15:47
amazing guys , the best graphics and animation i ever seen , LOP /sex&glory/Patreon games can’t compete with this quality.
but there are some things that could be better like adding more exciting stuff to the story because the game is short , more romance scenes or variety/options in romance scenes.
but off-course i understand to get that quality it took alot of time and effort.
great work guys.
Astaroth [admin] - 30/10/2018 17:58
Thanks! We worked hard on that one, so we appreciate the praise 🙂
We have DLCs planned for the game, so more sex scenes and romance options are coming.
geangavelea - 29/10/2018 10:26
Hey, you don t have a sound menu or a window mode play! Also, your game is great, keep it like that! You should concentrate on this side!
Astaroth [admin] - 29/10/2018 13:15
There are obviously things that could be added, like the ones you mentioned. Adding those options is not as easy and quick as it seems and requires coding knowledge we’re still in the process of acquiring (though we’ll obviously see if those can be added eventually). Keep in mind that while I focus on writing the guide, Tokage is constantly working on the programming side of things, so no resources are lost in that regard.